Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Prospector Partners LLC

Prospector Partners LLC lifted its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Eaton makes up approximately 2.6% of Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $22,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,595,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,812,966,000 after purchasing an additional 259,615 shares in the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $960,016,000 after acquiring an additional 195,809 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Eaton by 323.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $998,255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,270 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,029,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $488,815,000 after acquiring an additional 337,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Eaton by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,480,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $356,535,000 after purchasing an additional 19,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $330.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $299.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.60. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,186,411.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Eaton

Eaton Corporation plc operates as a power management company worldwide. The company's Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segment provides electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality and connectivity products, wiring devices, circuit protection products, utility power distribution products, power reliability equipment, and services, as well as hazardous duty electrical equipment, emergency lighting, fire detection, explosion-proof instrumentation, and structural support systems.